Mumbai, April 30 (IANS) The Congress on Tuesday fielded senior party leader Bhushan Patil as its candidate from the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat.

Patil will lock horns with BJP candidate and Union Minister Piyush Goyal in this BJP bastion.

Having served in various capacities, including as Mumbai Congress treasurer, Patil has been active in the fields of social work, sports, academics, arts, and culture.

With this, the Congress has announced nominees for both the seats it is contesting in the country’s commercial capital — Mumbai North and Mumbai North Central. In both seats, the Congress nominees are pitted against BJP candidates, Piyush Goyal and advocate Ujjwal Nikam, respectively.

Patil’s announcement also rules out the possibility of the Maha Vikas Aghadi fielding a Muslim candidate in any of the 48 LS seats in the state, a demand that was voiced in the past few days.

–IANS

qn/arm

New Delhi, April 30 (IANS) Apart from India taking the big leap from the fragile five to the world’s top five economies based on GDP in the last 10 years of the Narendra Modi government, an analysis by experts based on IMF data shows that the country’s relative performance compared with its peers has also turned better which was not the case earlier.

A higher per capita GDP growth also means that the standard of living of the people is rising as each person has more money to spend.

IMF data shows that in 2004, India’s per capita GDP was $635 which is 35 per cent of the average per capita GDP of $1,790 for 150 countries listed as “emerging market and developing economies” by the multilateral financial institution. These peer countries include China, Russia, Brazil, and countries in South America, Africa, the Middle East as well as parts of Eastern Europe.

Experts point out that this figure of 35 per cent declined to 30 per cent by 2014 which shows that India became relatively poorer than these 150 countries which performed better. However, this ratio increased from 30 per cent in 2014, to 37 per cent in 2019, according to IMF figures.

India’s per capita GDP in 2024 has shot up further to $2,850 which works out to 42 per cent of the $6,770 for its peer countries. This means that the gap has been narrowed with India’s economic performance being better than the other emerging economies in the last 10 years.

IMF data also shows that in 2004, India’s economy was 37 per cent the size of the Chinese economy but by 2014, it had fallen to a mere 19 per cent as China was clocking a much higher rate of growth. However, with the Indian economy growing at a much faster growth rate than China, the tables are being turned and the relative size of the economy has gone up to 22 per cent.

With India now emerging as the fastest-growing major economy in the world and China lagging behind the relative size of the economy vis-a-vis the Communist country is also increasing.

Based on the strong macroeconomic fundamentals, India is now headed to be the third largest economy surpassing Germany and Japan and what is equally important is that the per capita GDP is rising reflecting a better standard of living for the people.

–IANS

sps/sha

Jaipur, April 30 (IANS) Another NEET aspirant in Rajasthan’s coaching hub Kota committed suicide by hanging himself on Tuesday, just five days before the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) scheduled on May 5.

The deceased student left a suicide note that read, “I am sorry Papa. I cannot crack it even this time.” The note also carried a sad smiley.

The deceased, identified as Bharat Rajput (20), was a resident of Dholpur in Rajasthan who lived in a PG accommodation in Kota, said Ramnaran Meena, sub-inspector, Jawahar Nagar police station, adding that the incident was reported at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

Bharat lived with his nephew Rohit as PG in a house located in Jawahar Nagar, Meena said.

Rohit said he went to get a haircut in the morning. When he returned at around 11 a.m., he found the door of the room locked from inside. When he knocked, there was no response from inside. Even Bharat’s phone went unanswered.

After he informed the landlord, the latter called the police who broke open the door to find Bharat hanging from the ceiling fan.

Rohit said it would have been Bharat’s third attempt to crack NEET. He was living in Kota for the past two years, but could not clear the test.

According to Rohit, Bharat’s preparations were going well, and there was no visible tension.

Meena told IANS that Bharat’s family members have been informed about the tragic incident, and they have reached Kota. His postmortem will be conducted on Wednesday morning.

This was the ninth case of suicide in Kota this year.

On April 28, another NEET aspirant from Rohtak was found hanging in his room. His parents, however, suspect murder.

In both cases, no anti-hanging device was found in the room despite the mandatory guidelines issued by the administration to all PG and hostel owners to install the device in every room.

–IANS

arc/arm

Bhopal, April 30 (IANS) A team of Delhi Police on Tuesday arrived Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur for an investigation in connection with a doctored video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Delhi Police team questioned Youth Congress leader Umashankar Patel in connection with the doctored video case. He was handed a notice and allowed to go after the questioning, official sources told IANS.

Umashankar Patel, a Chhatarpur-based Youth Congress leader, is district head of the party’s IT cell. “He (Patel) was taken to Civil Line Police station and after questioning he was set free with a notice,” a source said.

Patel is the first person from Madhya Pradesh, who was questioned in connection with the doctored video, surfaced a couple of days ago.

At least 16 leaders, including Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, in seven states have been summoned by the Delhi Police in connection with the case.

The Delhi Police have summoned the Telangana Chief Minister and four other state Congress (TPCC) leaders — Shiva Kumar Ambala, Asma Tasleem, Satish Manne, and Naveen Pettem — to appear before it on May 1.

The case was registered after a doctored video surfaced on social media purportedly showcasing Home Minister Amit Shah making statements suggesting the BJP’s intention to annul reservation provisions for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

–IANS

pd/sha

New Delhi, April 30 (IANS) Congress leader P. Chidambaram’s claim about the grand old party’s support for reservation has drawn flak from various quarters on social media, with experts pointing to the perceived inconsistencies between the party’s rhetoric and its actions regarding reservation policies.

Even as the former Finance Minister attributes various decisions on reservations to SCs, STs, and OBCs to the erstwhile Congress regimes, experts delved into historical records to provide context and nuance to counter the claim.

The experts claim that the history of Congress is littered with obstructing quotas for SCs, STs, and OBCs. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), experts highlighted instances where Congress’ approach to reservation policies may have been allegedly inconsistent or where reservations were not effectively implemented.

Let’s first have a look at what Chidambaram wrote on X.

His post read, “It was a Congress government under Jawaharlal Nehru that in 1951 passed the First Amendment to the Constitution providing reservation for socially and educationally backward classes. It was a Congress government under P.V. Narasimha Rao that in 1994 implemented 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in central government jobs. It was a Congress government under Dr Manmohan Singh that in 2006 implemented 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in central government educational institutions.”

“Successor governments in the Centre only followed the Congress’ policy on reservation. The cap of 50 per cent on reservation was a judicial verdict. It has been breached in several states. Congress has promised in its Manifesto 2024 that a Congress or Congress-led government will remove the 50 per cent cap,” Chidambaram added.

An expert immediately countered the Congress leader, as he posted on X, “It was Nehru who wrote to Chief Ministers explicitly opposing reservations for SCs and STs.”

The statement attributed to Nehru says, “It is true that we are tied up with certain rules and conventions about helping Scheduled Castes and Tribes. They deserve help, but, even so, I dislike any kind of reservation, more particularly in service. I react strongly against anything which leads to inefficiency and second-rate standards.”

This was exactly what PM Narendra Modi had quoted while responding to the motion of thanks in the Rajya Sabha in February this year.

The X post further says that it was Congress that kept the Kelkar Committee recommendation (for Backward Commission) made in 1957 in cold storage until PM Modi gave Constitutional status to the OBC Commission in 2018, that too despite Congress’ opposition.

Punching holes in Chidambaram’s claim, the expert argued, “It was Congress which did not implement the Mandal Commission recommendations made in 1983. Finally, the BJP-supported government implemented them in 1990. It was Rajiv Gandhi who vehemently opposed the OBC quota in 1990. It was Congress which decried Dr. Ambedkar and made every attempt to defeat him and prevent his Parliament entry.”

The post further pointed out that it was Congress which humiliated a backward leader like Sitaram Kesri at the hands of the Gandhi dynasty.

“It was Rahul Gandhi who abused an entire backward community in a 2019 speech and for which he was even convicted by a court,” the expert added.

The post also accused the Congress of trying to defraud OBCs in Andhra Pradesh between 2004 and 2010 as it allegedly gave away a chunk of their quota to Muslims.

“It was Congress at the central government that tried to defraud the OBCs in 2011 by giving away a part of their quota to Muslims. It was Congress which named the entire Muslim community in Karnataka as OBCs, thereby depriving the OBCs of their full share,” read the post.

The expert also alleged that Nehru opposed reservations and even disparagingly said that it will create second-rate standards.

He further said that Rajiv Gandhi opposed Mandal Commission recommendations, while Sonia Gandhi tried her best to cut OBC quota and give it to Muslims.

“At the same time, Rahul Gandhi promised in the manifesto to ‘ensure’ minorities (read Muslim) have a fair share in jobs. How else will he ensure except through reservation,” he asked.

–IANS

brt/arm